CRACKING CROSTINI
THERE is no dinner party I would give where I couldn’t just make a plate of crostini to eat as a first course. Normally, I make a couple of different sorts. I don’t assemble them in advance, but I often make the mixture with which they’re going to be spread days ahead and keep slices of baguette or ficelle bagged up in the freezer.
TO MAKE the crostini, cut 1 large baguette or ficelle (enough for 40 to 50 crostini) into slices about 0.5cm to 0.75cm in width. Preheat the oven to 200c/gas 6 and, using a pastry brush or just your fingers, lightly cover with oil each side of each slice of bread. I find 40 slices use up about 8 tbsp oil. Unless specified below, always assume that olive oil (extra virgin) is indicated.
PUT the oil-brushed slices on a rack in the oven for about 5 to 10 minutes. The length of time it takes to brown depends in part on how stale it is to start off with (and stale is good here). Turn the bread over as it turns pale gold.
REMOVE when cooked and leave the uncrowned crostini somewhere to cool. You should toast them no more than 2 hours before you eat them. Don’t spread anything on them until they’re wholly cold — and then you can put just about anything on top. All the quantities below make enough for 20 crostini. I would make at least 5 per person, and probably 2 different kinds.
GORGONZOLA WITH MASCARPONE AND MARSALA
120g gorgonzola piccante, chopped 40g mascarpone 2 tbsp Marsala Good grating fresh nutmeg Freshly chopped parsley PUT the gorgonzola in a bowl with the mascarpone and the Marsala and mash together using a fork. Add a good grating or two of nutmeg and stir. Cover the bowl with cling film and put in the fridge until you need it, but remember to take it out a good half-anhour before you do, to make it easier to spread. I sprinkle these with flat-leaf parsley; a friend of mine tried it with half a slim Muscat grape on top — a bit close to the cheesy pineapple of Abigail’s Party, but good nonetheless.
ROASTED PEPPERS WITH A GREEN OLIVE PASTE
IF YOU find the charring and skinning of the peppers too labour-intensive for the effortsparing strategy of the drinks-accompanying starter, buy them in from a good Italian deli. I buy green olive paste from my local deli (also available online), spread that on the toast first and top with a soft tangle of peppers, their skins already burnt off by someone else. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
CREAMY PEA AND GARLIC PUREE
THIS amount will give enough for a few extra crostini. 1 head garlic 1 tsp olive oil 200g frozen petits pois 1 tbsp butter 2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan Freshly chopped mint PREHEAT the oven to 200c/gas 6. Lop the top off the head of garlic — you want to see the tops of the cloves just revealed in cross section. Cut a square of foil large enough to make a baggy parcel around the garlic, sit the garlic in the middle of it, drizzle over the oil and then make said parcel, twisting the ends slightly. Put in the oven for 50 minutes to an hour until the garlic is soft.
COOK the peas in boiling salted water as you would normally, only for a fraction longer. Drain and tip into the bowl of a food processor. Squeeze out the soft, cooked cloves of garlic and add them, then add the butter and Parmesan cheese. Process to a nubbly, but creamy, puree. Make sure to cool the mixture before spreading. Serve sprinkled with freshly chopped mint.